Building a community of committed, capable people is key to our future success. That’s why our Mentoring Conversations scheme provides the opportunity for individuals to connect, learn from one another and fulfil their potential. 

The scheme focuses on building capability by providing support to colleagues at key stages in their professional development.  You’ll benefit from a supportive, yet challenging environment to focus on enhancing your performance.  The scheme is open to colleagues who have recently experienced a significant change at work and new or existing managers wanting to increase their knowledge in a particular area. We will match you together with a more experienced colleague, who can provide mentorship based on their own real-life experiences and ensure you are making the most of your talents.

If you are looking for an opportunity to benefit from meaningful conversations, please get in touch using the contact details below.

What is involved?

The mentor is there to provide additional support to that typically offered by line managers and will be taken from a different area of our University, to provide an objective and confidential sounding board. Mentees will be expected to commit time and effort to the development process and take care of arranging the location and dates for meetings.

The People & OD team will match mentees with mentors and provide development advice as required. They will also evaluate the process after six months from the perspective of both the mentee and mentor.

Our Return to Work Mentoring Scheme has been created to support people back to work following a period of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave. This programme aims to make the transition back to work easier, by matching individuals with mentors who have experienced it themselves and are able to support based on their own real-life experiences. We hope the benefits be wide ranging – for both mentees and mentors and also our University more widely, by building a community of committed people and creating opportunities to learn from one another. The guidance document provides some further information.

What do I do next?

If you feel that this scheme could be of benefit to you, please identify based on the profiles below which mentor you feel is best placed to support you. To set up a mentoring relationship, please contact a mentor directly (by clicking on their profile picture) to introduce yourself and check their availability. Please note a mentor needs to be someone from outside your own area. If you would like to discuss the support you need or would like help choosing or contacting a mentor, please do not hesitate to contact the People & Organisational Development Team on POD@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Review and Evaluation

At the end of the mentoring relationship the process and impact will be reviewed by both parties via confidential questionnaires. As this scheme is relatively new, this aspect is particularly important to us.

Sharing your skills, knowledge and experience can be a hugely rewarding experience.  Whilst the mentor’s role is to provide guidance to others, an effective mentoring relationship will be mutually beneficial.  Developing mentoring skills means gaining excellent listening and questioning techniques, improving your communication and learning how to forge deeper, more productive relationships.

Mentoring gives you space to reflect on your own skills and experience, which will increase your self-awareness. You will also have the opportunity to make connections in other parts of the University.   Our mentors have described valuable by-products of participating in the schemes; including learning about different subject areas or projects and widening their networks.  In short, on top of giving something back, being a mentor can enrich your own professional development. 

“I was inspired by my mentee’s passion for her work and the people she manages.” Leeds Beckett Mentor

What is the commitment?

If you are matched with a mentee, we ask that you meet once a month for a maximum of six months.  This can vary based on the mentee’s goals – sometimes one or two meetings are enough.  The mentee is responsible for arranging the meeting dates, times and location.  All our mentors are also asked to complete a short online learning module before being matched.  Finally, we ask that you complete a brief evaluation form at the end of every relationship. 

What support will I receive?

From October 2019, all our new mentors have access to an online learning module (30-60 minutes to complete) before being matched with a mentee.  You will also receive a mentor’s resources pack, which provides all the tools you’ll need to structure and make the most of your sessions.  The People & OD team will make the connections on your behalf and help you to establish the relationship in the early days.  They will also check in with you at the half way point and the end of your time together to evaluate how the relationship has progressed from both your own and the mentee’s perspective. 

How do I register to become a mentor?

For a conversation about becoming a mentor at Leeds Beckett, please contact POD@leedsbeckett.ac.uk indicating which scheme you are interested in joining.